I woke up in the middle of the night over spring break with panic and nervousness. I needed to find a summer job and I absolutely couldn’t wait another second. The thought of waiting till the last minute before summer break began and having a bank account perpetually at twenty-four dollars made my stomach cringe. I hopped onto Craigslist and searched through sketchy advertisements and offerings. I eventually came across an ad for “Boston Neck Pizza” for a part-time delivery/phone girl position. Not really my style, but I thought it was kind of cool and there was a number to call ASAP. I woke up the next morning and left a message with my future boss and mentor, Maria. The late night scramble for a part-time and easy summer job evolved into a skill that came not so naturally, but made me feel good about myself. Overtime, I became an expert employee at Boston Neck Pizza.
After working at Boston Neck for two months, Maria offered me an opportunity that changed my desired career path and showed me how rewarding working in a restaurant can be. Joe, the manager at Boston Neck, and Maria began to train me as a pizza cook. I immediately felt stressed. Assembling a simple cheese pizza, something I originally looked at as mundane and easy, was a disaster. I spilled sauce, used too much cheese, and don’t even mention the ovens. I was absolutely terrified to stick my precious, delicate skin inside that oven to place the pizza down on the brick. The worst part was that I hadn’t even gotten to the more difficult stuff. Specialty pizzas were my nightmare. I couldn’t remember what toppings went where and how much I was supposed to use. Every night I was scheduled, there was a designated learning period. I was to practice with the ovens, which I was embarrassingly slow at, assemble pizzas with quickness and accuracy, and also interact with customers who entered the store. I wasn’t the best by far, but I was a hard worker and overcame many of my fears to become better. As months continued on, I searched for more advice about how to become better. Joe, an expert himself, showed me all the shortcuts and ways to make my job simpler. He taught me the tricks and ways to be quick and pizza witty when business got tough.
My biggest breakthrough happened when my boss, Maria, left the country for two weeks. I was required to step up my game and work my hardest to pick up the slack while Maria was away. For the first time, I began to open the store on my own, prep vegetables and meats, and interact with customers (and cook their food!) with speed and sincerity. Over the two weeks that Maria was gone, I felt more confident and sure about my skill set. It wasn’t until she returned, that she gave me the news that I was ready to work alone during the week. Joe told Maria how proud he was of my hard work and acquired skills and they allowed me the opportunity of cooking full time.
By the time August rolled around, I knew every nook and cranny of Boston Neck. I understood the cash register, the oven, pizza assembly, and most importantly, customer interaction. But oh, believe me. This was no easy task. Many bloopers took place and if my life was a movie, it would be quite hilarious.
I would not have become an expert pizza cook if I had not completely screwed up and learned from my mistakes. My first night closing the pizza store, I accidentally turned the temperature knob on the oven, which due to age, no longer had the temperature readings on them. The main oven was completely off temperature. No one knew what the original temperature was and we were all in the dark as to what to do. Eventually, the whole temperature device was replaced. On another extremely busy night, the store received a call back while I was working. A man claimed that I ruined his pizza. He told me that his pizza was burned, tasted bad, and that he was lucky to find green peppers on it. He destroyed my self-esteem that night when he ended the conversation by saying that, “[I] will be the reason the business will go down the drain”. My heart was broken, but I woke up the next day complaining and reviewing it non-stop, but I eventually realized that my mistakes could only make me better at what I do...and hey, Maria hadn't fired me after all of my mistakes, so they must've liked me over at BNP.
Answer the phone; write the order, and grab a pizza, two scoops of sauce, one big handful of cheese spread evenly, ten steps to the oven, 15 minutes or so, and wahlah! A beautiful cheese pizza is made. Working at Boston Neck Pizza has made me into an even more hardworking and successful human being. I have learned to work towards expertise and perfection. I know how to problem solve in the restaurant and I know how hard efforts pay off, especially when I wanted to give up. My mistakes have made me better at what I do and I would not trade it for any other skill, except maybe baking. Everyone loves good cake.
I woke up in the middle of the night over spring break with panic and nervousness. I needed to find a summer job and I absolutely couldn’t wait another second. The thought of waiting till the last minute before summer break began and having a bank account perpetually at twenty-four dollars made my stomach cringe. I hopped onto Craigslist and searched through sketchy advertisements and offerings. I eventually came across an ad for “Boston Neck Pizza” for a part-time delivery/phone girl position. Not really my style, but I thought it was kind of cool and there was a number to call ASAP. I woke up the next morning and left a message with my future boss and mentor, Maria. The late night scramble for a part-time and easy summer job evolved into a skill that came not so naturally, but made me feel good about myself. Overtime, I became an expert employee at Boston Neck Pizza.
After working at Boston Neck for two months, Maria offered me an opportunity that changed my desired career path and showed me how rewarding working in a restaurant can be. Joe, the manager at Boston Neck, and Maria began to train me as a pizza cook. I immediately felt stressed. Assembling a simple cheese pizza, something I originally looked at as mundane and easy, was a disaster. I spilled sauce, used too much cheese, and don’t even mention the ovens. I was absolutely terrified to stick my precious, delicate skin inside that oven to place the pizza down on the brick. The worst part was that I hadn’t even gotten to the more difficult stuff. Specialty pizzas were my nightmare. I couldn’t remember what toppings went where and how much I was supposed to use. Every night I was scheduled, there was a designated learning period. I was to practice with the ovens, which I was embarrassingly slow at, assemble pizzas with quickness and accuracy, and also interact with customers who entered the store. I wasn’t the best by far, but I was a hard worker and overcame many of my fears to become better. As months continued on, I searched for more advice about how to become better. Joe, an expert himself, showed me all the shortcuts and ways to make my job simpler. He taught me the tricks and ways to be quick and pizza witty when business got tough.
My biggest breakthrough happened when my boss, Maria, left the country for two weeks. I was required to step up my game and work my hardest to pick up the slack while Maria was away. For the first time, I began to open the store on my own, prep vegetables and meats, and interact with customers (and cook their food!) with speed and sincerity. Over the two weeks that Maria was gone, I felt more confident and sure about my skill set. It wasn’t until she returned, that she gave me the news that I was ready to work alone during the week. Joe told Maria how proud he was of my hard work and acquired skills and they allowed me the opportunity of cooking full time.
By the time August rolled around, I knew every nook and cranny of Boston Neck. I understood the cash register, the oven, pizza assembly, and most importantly, customer interaction. But oh, believe me. This was no easy task. Many bloopers took place and if my life was a movie, it would be quite hilarious.
I would not have become an expert pizza cook if I had not completely screwed up and learned from my mistakes. My first night closing the pizza store, I accidentally turned the temperature knob on the oven, which due to age, no longer had the temperature readings on them. The main oven was completely off temperature. No one knew what the original temperature was and we were all in the dark as to what to do. Eventually, the whole temperature device was replaced. On another extremely busy night, the store received a call back while I was working. A man claimed that I ruined his pizza. He told me that his pizza was burned, tasted bad, and that he was lucky to find green peppers on it. He destroyed my self-esteem that night when he ended the conversation by saying that, “[I] will be the reason the business will go down the drain”. My heart was broken, but I woke up the next day complaining and reviewing it non-stop, but I eventually realized that my mistakes could only make me better at what I do...and hey, Maria hadn't fired me after all of my mistakes, so they must've liked me over at BNP.
Answer the phone; write the order, and grab a pizza, two scoops of sauce, one big handful of cheese spread evenly, ten steps to the oven, 15 minutes or so, and wahlah! A beautiful cheese pizza is made. Working at Boston Neck Pizza has made me into an even more hardworking and successful human being. I have learned to work towards expertise and perfection. I know how to problem solve in the restaurant and I know how hard efforts pay off, especially when I wanted to give up. My mistakes have made me better at what I do and I would not trade it for any other skill, except maybe baking. Everyone loves good cake.